Science on Saturday Night : Superfuel to Power The World

Another science on saturday night was held by STD of IAAS LC IPB, this time we’re discussing about superfuel that comes from radioactive material called thorium, if you want to know more about this superfuel, you can read it here.

Thorium was discovered in 1828, The name was taken from Thor, God of Thunder Viking or Norseman. Thorium is an element with an atomic number of 90 which has radioactive properties that can be used as fuel for nuclear reactors. The potential of thorium in various parts of the world is expected to reach 3-4 times more than the uranium.

Research and development of thorium-based nuclear reactors, primarily the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR), has been or is now being done in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, India, China, France, the Czech Republic, Japan, Russia, Canada, Israel, and the Netherlands.

For comparison, one kilogram of thorium would produce energy equivalent to that produced by 300 kilograms of uranium, or 3.5 million kilograms of coal, without the environmental effects of coal in the atmosphere and Thorium produces 90% less waste than uranium.

Up to now there is no power plant reactors that use thorium as a fuel on a commercial-scale. Some countries one of which India has been trying to use thorium mixed with uranium as fuel for the reactor, but the scale of the experiment.